When people are asked about the headdress of the Indians, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is a crown of eagle feathers. Such impressive headdresses can often be seen in Western films and television shows about Indians. And although it is now the most famous type of Indian headdress, it was actually worn by only a few tribes living in the Great Plains region, such as the Sioux, Crow, Blackfoot, Cheyenne and Plains Cree. Moreover, their crowns of feathers were different.
Sioux warriors wore headdresses with one or two rows of eagle feathers inserted in descending order of length. In the Crow tribe, elders attended formal events wearing headdresses where eagle feathers fanned out around the face. The Blackfoot wore tall and narrow headdresses when the eagle feathers were in a straight upright position. All these headdresses of the Indians were made from the tail feathers of the golden eagle, and each feather was earned by a feat. Sometimes the feathers were dyed in honor of a specific cause.
Such crownswere considered an important solemn regalia, and only warriors and male leaders wore them. In some Indian tribes, women also went to war, and there were even female leaders, but they never wore the headdress of the Indians. Male warriors most often kept their crowns for official occasions, because they were uncomfortable to fight on the battlefield.
In the 1800s, men from other tribes sometimes began to wear the same headdress as the Indians of the Great Plains. This was partly due to the fact that many Indian tribes, having moved to Oklahoma, began to adopt some attributes from their new neighbors. In most cases, the headdress of an Indian did not mean much to them. It was a tribute to fashion or a general symbol of power. But for the tribes of the Great Plains, the crown of feathers was a sacred symbol of honor and courage, and each feather was the result of a heroic story. Even today, Indians of this region who serve in the armed forces or have accomplished some feat are sometimes awarded eagle feathers.
Most of the tribes living east of the Rocky Mountains wore an Indian headdress called the roach. It was made from coarse animal hair:
porcupine, elk and deer, which were attached to the base in such a way that it looked like a comb on the head. Often the hair was dyed in bright colors and shells and other decorations were added to it. In some tribes, men cut their own hair in a roach style, and also woreartificial rouches. In other tribes, these headdresses, attached to the head with leather bands, were worn over long hair and braids. Today, this is the most common wearing option.
Roach was commonly worn by warriors and dancers. Its meaning varied from tribe to tribe. In some tribes, this Indian headdress was worn when going into battle. In others, it was part of the formal attire. Like all clothing styles, roaches have sometimes gone out of style and sometimes come back in style. As a rule, they had no important spiritual significance, and the boys earned the right to wear a roach already at the first important ceremony. Nowadays, such headdresses can often be seen on Native American medicine men, who still wear them as regalia.
